An experienced traveller, who has visited the fjords of New Zealand and the beaches of Hawaii, John said Loch Lomond trumps them all and he is committed to proving this to others on wild walking tours with a difference.

The 31-year-old said: “I’m very patriotic and I love the outdoors, so this is the perfect job for me.

“I absolutely love being out in Loch Lomond, meeting people from across the world and showing them how special it is.

“Some people ask me if I ever get bored of Loch Lomond because I’m a national park ranger too, but I could never get bored of it.

“It changes every day with the seasons, the weather and the wildlife. Right now, we are in the deer rutting season and I’m starting to see robins and migrating geese. “The sights and sounds are always changing.”

Explaining his inspiration for setting up Experience Scotland’s Wild, he went on: “I remember being really impressed by the way they did tours over in Australia when I was travelling and it inspired me.

“Experience Scotland’s Wild is not about sight-seeing, it’s about sight-doing. I like to take people off the beaten track so they can truly experience and immerse themselves in Scotland’s beautiful landscapes.

“It’s different than a usual bus tours, which only stop briefly for people to take photographs. There is a purpose for that but I wanted to do something different and people seem to love it.

“There’s nothing like somebody coming up to you at the end of a tour and saying it has been the best day of their two-week holiday.”

After it’s very first assessment, Experience Scotland’s Wild, has become one of only 10 tours outside of Edinburgh to receive VisitScotland’s five-star Quality Assurance (QA) award, a benchmark for quality across the tourism industry.

John also offers help and itineraries for those wanting a self-guided walk of the West Highland Way — a service he intends to develop into a guided trek.

He also wants to expand his day excursions into other parts of Scotland.

John added: “To receive a five-star tour award on first application is awesome, really awesome. “Getting this fantastic recognition is very exciting and shows that all the hard work has paid off.”

David Adams McGilp, regional director at VisitScotland congratulated John on his success, saying: “To get a five-star grading from VisitScotland’s world-leading Quality Assurance Scheme is a superb achievement, but to get it at the very first time of asking is rare.

“I would like to congratulate John on his outstanding success.”

John’s life was quite different seven years ago when he worked at a phone shop. He had recently returned from a year travelling and knew there was more to life for him, explaining: “I absolutely hated that job.

“I had just returned home and had gone into the shop to buy a laptop. They were looking for staff so I went for it and got the job.

“I was so used to walking about and exploring and suddenly I found myself working in a shop for 12 hours a day barely seeing any daylight.

“I had to get out of there for the sake of my sanity. I left for a seasonal job at the national park and was lucky to get a full-time position and I’m still here seven years later.”

John juggles being a ranger at Loch Lomond National Park with being a tour guide and he says one of the best aspects of the job is meeting people from across the world.

He went on: “I love making visitors’ expectations a reality and each person takes away something different from the experience.

“I’ve had tourists who can’t believe how many shades of green there are here and others who are fascinated by the history of Robert McGregor.

“There was one person who was amazed by how clean we keep our cars over here!

“It’s important to sometimes stop to appreciate how lucky we are because not everyone gets to live in such a beautiful place.”